Comic-Con 2013: 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland' Panel

Rather than open with ‘Once Upon A Time’ proper, ABC kicked things off Saturday morning in Ballroom 20 at Comic-Con 2013 with spin-off series ‘Once Upon A Time in Wonderland'! Not only were fans treated to the full 20-minute presentation of the “pilot” episode, but the panel introduced a new actor to the cast, one very familiar with ‘LOST’ fans! So, what did we learn from ‘Once Upon A Time in Wonderland?’

At long last, Jafar is finally coming to the franchise, courtesy of fan-favorite pick and ‘LOST’ star Naveen Andrews! Series helmers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis introduced the actor on stage, clarifying that he would appear in the pilot episode, which will be expanded into a full episode.

As for the pilot presentation itself, we saw a brief connection to Storybrooke in the opening minutes, as the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha) encounters Grumpy (Lee Aronberg) in the midst of the Storybrooke attack. It isn’t long after that the Knave greets a CG white rabbit (John Lithgow), and we’re off down the rabbit hole. We won’t spill the entire presentation, but suffice to say, Alice’s adventures flash between her time in Wonderland, and in an asylum thereafter!

A few tidbits from the cast and creators:

Kitsis and Horowitz reiterated that they plan to tell a complete story over the as-yet-unscheduled length of the series, but wouldn’t rule out future seasons providing new stories for the characters.

Like ‘Once Upon A Time,’ the series will utilize a flashback format to tell the histories of the characters, some of which could intersect with characters from the main series! Kitsis would be “disappointed” if the Red Queen didn’t have some interaction with the Queen of Hearts.

Naturally, the question turned to Sebastian Stan’s potential involvement as the Mad Hatter, to which the producers acknowledge he’s become increasingly busy ... fighting Captain America! “We may kidnap him to Vancouver,” Kitsis jokes.

We’ll see the Cheshire Cat in the premiere, and eventually such mythology characters as the March Hare, and the Doormouse. Roger Daltry will reprise his role as the hookah-smoking caterpillar

We’ll learn more as we grow closer to the premiere, but what say you? Are you interested to see where the story goes with ‘Once Upon A Time in Wonderland?’